Ligue 1
PSG’s perfect start ends
Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain suffered their first defeat under new coach Unai Emery on Sunday, going down 3-1 to a rampant AS Monaco at the Stade Louis II. Joao Moutinho put Monaco ahead before a Fabinho penalty doubled their lead just before halftime. Edinson Cavani pulled a goal back in the second half, but a Serge Aurier own-goal late on secured a deserved win for the home side. PSG are in fifth place after seeing their perfect start to the campaign ended in the principality. “If we had controlled the start of the match things would have been different,” Emery said. Earlier, AS Saint-Etienne drew 0-0 with Toulouse at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, while Girondins de Bordeaux edged a tight encounter with Nantes 1-0 thanks to a Diego Rolan goal in the first half.
BUNDESLIGA
Hertha score late for win
Julian Schieber scored the second of two injury-time goals to give Hertha BSC a dramatic 2-1 win over promoted SC Freiburg, while RB Leipzig secured a 2-2 draw on their Bundesliga debut on Sunday. Freiburg captain Nicolas Hoefler thought he had salvaged a draw for his side on their return to the Bundesliga when he scored with a header from a corner in the 93rd minute, but there was still time for Schieber’s winner from a difficult angle after Genki Haraguchi’s initial effort was blocked. Later on Sunday, Marcel Sabitzer struck in the last minute to earn a 2-2 draw for Leipzig at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Mark Uth looked to have won it for the home side when he scored in the 83rd after a breakaway led by captain Sebastian Rudy, but Benno Schmitz crossed for Sabitzer at the far post to claim Leipzig’s first point.
La Liga
Barca withstand pressure
Ivan Rakitic’s first-half header maintained Barcelona’s 100 percent start to the La Liga season as the champions withstood a wave of late pressure to win 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Despite their perfect starts to the campaign, Real Madrid and Barca trail UD Las Palmas at the top of the table after the Canary Islanders smashed Granada 5-1 with new signing Kevin-Prince Boateng again on target. Sevilla failed to match their thrilling 6-4 win over RCD Espanyol last weekend, but picked up a valuable point in a 0-0 draw at Villarreal. Deportivo Alaves remain unbeaten after a 0-0 stalemate with Real Sporting de Gijon.
Serie A
Inter draw 1-1 at home
Inter showed signs of improvement in a 1-1 draw with US Citta di Palermo on Sunday in their home opener at San Siro. While Inter dominated the first half, it was another difficult game as Andrea Rispoli put Palermo ahead three minutes after the break with the visitors’ first shot on goal. However, Inter’s prized striker Mauro Icardi equalized in the 72nd, heading home a cross from newly-signed Antonio Candreva. Genoa came back from a goal down to defeat Portogruaro-Crotone 3-1, while US Sassuolo, last season’s revelation with a sixth-place finish, beat promoted Delfino Pescara 1936 2-1. UC Sampdoria overcame Atalanta BC 2-1 with goals from Fabio Quagliarella and Edgar Barreto, while ACF Fiorentina defeated AC Chievo Verona 1-0 with a goal from Colombia midfielder Carlos Sanchez, who is on loan from Aston Villa. Also, it was: Torino 5, Bologna 1; and Udinese 2, Empoli 0.
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
New Zealand yesterday reached 231-9 at stumps on a first day of the first Test against the West Indies shortened by rain after Justin Greaves triggered a middle-order collapse with the wicket of Kane Williamson. New Zealand tumbled from 94-1 to 148-6 on a bowler-friendly wicket after Williamson was dismissed for 52, his 38th Test half-century. Michael Bracewell and Nathan Smith arrested the slide with a 52-run stand for the seventh wicket. Smith eventually fell for 23 and Bracewell for 47. After Matt Henry went for 8, Zak Foulkes and Jacob Duffy were both on 4 when bad light stopped play after 70
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